


Like heaven above me

by Pepper (Zalt)



Category: Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Friday Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-19 02:30:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20202271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zalt/pseuds/Pepper
Summary: Senatorial aide Arihnda Pryce and Senior Lieutenant Thrawn meet at the Core Square celebration on Coruscant. Only Thrawn knows it is not their first encounter.





	Like heaven above me

**Author's Note:**

> A continuation to Memories of you.

Senior Lieutenant Thrawn first noticed the woman as she smoothly maneuvered into position near their group, stopping at a carefully calculated distance and angle that would put her in Senator Renking’s peripheral vision. He spared only enough of his attention from the conversation at hand to classify her as being unthreatening, civilian and most likely a subordinate to the Senator - yet another of the minor actors in the intricate games of Coruscant society. 

Something about her tickled at the back of his mind as he returned to studying the interplay of microexpressions and facial heat on Renking’s face. The man had a better than average human ability to mask his reactions, and Thrawn found the challenge of reading him a worthwhile diversion from listening to Yularen’s by now oft repeated conversational script. Then the Senator noticed their watcher, and held out an inviting hand to her.

“This is Arihnda Pryce, one of my aides.”

As Renking named her, the vague feeling that had been nagging Thrawn suddenly resolved into a crystal clear memory. 

_ A long time ago, on a distant planet: Another colorful crowd, this one festive and cheering under the bright blue skies of Alderaan. Warm sunlight battling the chilly spring air, failing to penetrate the shadow where he was currently hiding from pursuit. He, and the young woman who had so inconveniently beaten him to his objective. And who was now in his arms, lips pressed urgently to his as she balanced precariously on tip-toe. The act had surprised him enough that it took him a second to realize she must have spotted one of their pursuers and was trying to obscure his only partially concealed alien features in the hopes they would pass on by. _

_ He had pulled her close, and leaned down to let the long hair of his disguise fall forward and hide both their features. And as they held the kiss, he found propriety fading away at the amazing taste and feel of her, her soft curves under his hands, her sweet scent tinged with the adrenaline spike of their flight. The kiss had grown deeper, the sound of the crowds fading around them. When they finally broke apart she had been as breathless as him, and he had watched her flushed expression and still-parted lips with regret as he recalled himself to his mission, and the inevitable outcome of their brief partnership. _

He ruthlessly pushed the memory down, with a brief thought of gratitude to the less acute observational skills of humans that prevented them from noticing his near-lapse. As she bowed politely in greeting, he drank in her appearance, recording as much detail as he could while it was socially appropriate of him to pay her attention.

She had changed, from the round-faced, wide-eyed girl he had known then. She had been so young and naive, easy to read and manipulate. But she had also been brave and fierce, and with the same bright intelligence shining from her sky-blue eyes then as now. That her features were sharper and her stance more confident only enhanced her remembered beauty.

By the time she had straightened again, he was back in control and no longer permitted himself the indulgence of looking at her, instead responding politely to some comment of Yularen’s. And she paid no more attention to him than any other human meeting him for the first time, gaze lingering curiously on his blue hands and face for just a little too long before looking elsewhere. It was clear she did not remember him. Which was of course as it should be -- he had made very certain that no trace of his mission to Alderaan would remain, as much as he regretted having to use the amnesia drug on her.

The safe thing to do would be to put her out of his mind again. Any further contact could only risk undoing the effects, and awakening memories of him. With a twinge of regret, he returned to his interrupted study of Renking, trying to distract himself from thoughts of what might have been.

And that was how he saw the brief but clear expression of malice from the Senator as he instructed Ms. Pryce to bring a datacard to Moff Ghadi. As Yularen made their excuses and moved them on to the next group, he replayed the conversation in his head. He had seen no sign that Ms. Pryce had spotted the implied danger. He had insufficient information to know if it was directed at her, or more likely the Moff, but in either case she was heading for danger.

Ms. Pryce conversed briefly with two other humans, then made her meandering way through the crowd, looking for the Moff. Thrawn lost sight of her for a minute, then spotted her again just as she was leaving the room, hurrying after her assignment in the direction of the elevators leading to the suites.

Thrawn battled himself -- and lost. His need to safeguard the secret of his old mission, the knowledge that she would most likely hate him if she should ever remember him, even the importance of saving his current career -- all of it insignificant compared to the threat to the woman who had never stopped haunting his dreams.

Ensign Vanto, bright lad, recognized the signal to  _ disengage _ , and found an excuse to cut their current conversation short and request a brief break from Colonel Yularen.

As they headed out of the ballroom, Thrawn tersely instructed Vanto to locate the suite currently used by Moff Ghadi, trusting the Ensign to slice through whatever privacy the Alisandre had in place for its guests, and locate the fastest route there. 

Arihnda Pryce was in danger. And this time, Thrawn would not lose her.

**Author's Note:**

> Written as a thryce Discord friday fluff, so by definition a stand-alone. I may not be entirely done with that universe, time will tell.


End file.
